'Sullivan & Son' cast coming to SD

Ask Steve Byrne — star and co-creator of TBS’ No. 1 comedy, “Sullivan & Son” — who he considers an influence, and his response may come as a surprise.

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but I love Dean Martin,” said Byrne, who has been a standup comedian for about 17 years. “I know he’s not a standup comedian by any means, but ... I love his easygoing demeanor, there’s this charm about him, a class about him. There’s something about that guy — I just love that guy.”

Byrne is headlining the live comedy tour, “Steve Byrne: featuring the Cast of ‘Sullivan & Son’ Comedy Tour,” which is coming to the Mad House Comedy Club on July 29.

“Standup comedy is a professional solitude,” said Byrne, who has been on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Tonight Show.” “You’re always isolated, you’re by yourself. So to get to be a part of a team — to get to work with three other guys you get along with and are also inspired by — is absolutely a dream.”

The show started its third season on June 24, and the third annual summer tour kicked off in New York on June 22 and will continue until Aug. 30 in Seattle.

“It’s a wonderful job — I actually love every second of it,” Byrne said.

Although he’s inspired by Martin, Byrne does have a comedic influence: Dana Carvey, best known for his work on SNL.

“I think he’s somebody I could just watch read the phone book and laugh,” he said.

As a kid, Byrne moved from New Jersey to Pittsburgh, where he grew up.

“Humor was how I broke the ice being the new kid in town,” Byrne said.

He credits his humor for making friends during the awkward fourth and fifth grade years.

“I think that’s when I thought, oh OK, this is what a sense of humor can do. So that was very formative for me.”

He thinks audience for his show mostly comprises Midwestern and Southern folks who are good-mannered, hardworking, wear nametags at their jobs and are proud of their country.

“They’re not going to apologize for who they are,” he said. “That’s my audience, that’s who I am. I’m glad that I’ve found that audience and I hope to be reflective of that in my standup as well as the show.”

Though the characters in the show mirror people in Byrne’s life, such as his Korean mom and Irish dad, he doesn’t often think standup jokes work well on a TV show, unless it’s done like “Seinfeld.”

“That’s why I’ve always tried to keep stuff from my standup out of the show and vice versa,” Byrne said. “They’re two different art forms; they’re two completely different mediums.”

Byrne said that for comics, being on tour is like running for office, hoping to get re-elected.

“We’re shaking hands and kissing babies, we’re getting on the radio — we’re doing everything we can to let people know that we exist, that we’re around.”

He said he and his castmates, who have been comics for a similar amount of time, have watched each other grow as actors on the show.

“When we go out on tour standups, it’s second nature,” Byrne said. “It’s like watching everybody get to do what they were — I believe — born to do.”